Aspiring as in not a bassist yet I do have my own 4 string and I do have the ambition to learn. Trouble is I can't afford lessons and I'm not sure where to start or what exactly to practice. Any bassists around here know how I can start small and work my way up? Not exactly looking to be an Alex Webster in a few weeks, but a good foot in the door helps!

I like to use this website(http://www.cyberfretbass.com/). It has some really nice lessons. Start by learning all your notes on the fretboard, then all your major & minor scales + major and minor arpeggios. Once you got those basics down, there is lots of other stuff on there to learn.

Good luck, hope it helps.

Also guitar pro is awesome for tabs and for playing along with songs/learning songs. Also useful for writing your own.

Last edited by PostMetalActivist on Sat Sep 01, 2012 5:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

learn the basic scales first (just google bass scales)..it will give you a good grip of the bass and you will train your fingers. Just practice the scales meanwhile watching tv or so...than a good site for learning songs is songsterr. The site has devided difficulties so you just pick a song you like from beginner group and try to learn it..you will slowly progress and if you have the wish to play bass it will be no problem to learn it quite fast

get guitar pro and play along with guitar pro tabs of songs.www.911tabs.com is a great place to find them. Its a real fun way to learn guitar and bass.

i have not taken any lessons either but have done this for a while and i can write original and id say pretty good riffs. However i chose on purpose not to look up any music theory. Learning music theory can help you write actual songs.

Edited my post, for some reason it didn't have the link to the website I was talking about.

Also, just learning songs won't help you become a better musician. If you just want to play cover songs forever it's fine. But you need to study theory if you want to become an actual musician and write compositions.

I second tux guitar, find tabs for songs you like and try to play along with them. For me, it feels alot like guitar hero practice mode, and it really helps alot mentally just being able to hear where the notes fit in. I mean some songs will have riffs that just dont sound right played alone, so having the bass/guitar/drums/ect helps alot in understanding the song.

I would recommend getting a good foundation in picking technique/fingerstyle patterns. Start picking/plucking at certain volumes and speeds and learning how to get a consistent sound from each note. Easy stuff, but good basics make good bass players

Also, consider learning pentatonics. They make for easy-access fills and riffs

Plenty of lessons on ultimate-guitar.com as well as tablature. When you hear a song, I imagine it is fairly obvious even without experience whether or not it is an easy song to play on bass. My ex was able to learn Absurd songs the first time she even picked up a bass. Read some lessons on beginners bass playing (read a few so you aren't just listening to one person's advice), get Guitar Pro 5.2, and make it fun. If you make it into a chore, you won't enjoy it and will likely not stick with it. Try to learn your favorite songs and do not be discouraged if you can't do it. You'll be surprised by how quickly progress can be made.